63rd Air Refueling Squadron
927th Air Refueling WingKC-135 Stratotankers
Active	1942–1946; 1947–1953; 1953–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Aerial refueling
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ	MacDill Air Force Base
Nickname	Flying Jennies
Engagements	Southwest Pacific Theater Korean War[1]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Insignia
63rd Air Refueling Squadron emblem[note 1][1]

The63rd Air Refueling Squadron, sometimes written as63d Air Refueling Squadron, is aUnited States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the927th Operations Group atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is areserve associate of the active duty91st Air Refueling Squadron. The squadron operates theKC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conductingair refueling missions.

The squadron was activated duringWorld War II as the63d Troop Carrier Squadron. After Training in the United States, it deployed to theSouthwest Pacific Theater, where it flewairlift missions, earning aDistinguished Unit Citation,Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, andPhilippine Presidential Unit Citation for its actions. AfterV-J Day, the squadron remained in the Philippines until inactivating in May 1946.

The squadron was again activated in thereserve in 1947. In April 1951, the squadron was called to active duty for theKorean War. It moved to Japan, and again flew combat airlift missions, earning aRepublic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. In January 1953, the squadron was relieved from active duty, transferring its planes and personnel to a regular unit. It was activated the same day in the reserve. The squadron continued to fly airlift missions, and was again called to active service for theCuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Except for a short period, when it was nominally aspecial operations unit, it flew airlift missions until 1992, when it converted to the air refueling role.

The 63d flew aerial transportation and casualty evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from, 6 August 1943-c.August 1945, and between Japan and Korea from 19 May-31 December 1952. The squadron received aNavy Unit Commendation for its service at part of theSouth Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) from October 1943 to July 1944.^[2]

The squadron conducted tacticalairlift operations from 1953 to 1969 and 1971 to 1992 and trained for tactical air support missions from 1969 to 1971. It deployed personnel toSouthwest Asia in 1990 and 1991 duringOperations Desert Shield andDesert Storm. It has flown air refueling missions since 1992.

• Constituted as the63rd Troop Carrier Squadron on 7 December 1942

Activated on 12 December 1942

Inactivated on 15 May 1946

• Activated in the reserve on 21 June 1947

Redesignated63rd Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 27 June 1949

Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951

Inactivated on 1 January 1953

• Activated in the reserve on 1 January 1953

Ordered to active service on 28 October 1962

Relieved from active service on 28 November 1962

• Redesignated63d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 July 1967
• Redesignated63d Tactical Air Support Squadron on 26 June 1969
• Redesignated63d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 29 June 1971
• Redesignated63d Airlift Squadron on 1 February 1992
• Redesignated63d Air Refueling Squadron on 1 Oct 1992^[1]

• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 12 December 1942 – 15 May 1946 (attached toSouth Pacific Combat Air Transport Command 10 October 1943 – 3 July 1944)
• 419th Troop Carrier Group, 21 June 1947
• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953
• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 1 January 1953
• 403d Troop Carrier Wing, 14 April 1959
• 927th Troop Carrier Group (later 927th Tactical Air Support Group, 927th Tactical Airlift Group, 927th Airlift Group, 927th Air Refueling Group), 11 Feb 1963
• 927th Operations Group, 1 Aug 1992 – present^[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Armstrong, William M. (2017).Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing.ISBN 978-1467127431.
• Cantwell, Gerald T. (1997).Citizen Airmen: a History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946-1994(PDF). Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program.ISBN 0-16049-269-6. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.*Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1.LCCN 61060979. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6.LCCN 70605402.OCLC 72556. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977(PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved17 December 2016.

• Military units and formations in Florida
• Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force

• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from April 2021
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use American English from June 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from June 2015
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency